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John-John McIntyre
Maleeka’s mom is Maleeka’s sole caretaker, as Maleeka’s dad died three years prior to the novel’s events. While Maleeka’s mom loves and supports her, she doesn’t always model good behavior. Maleeka reveals that, following her dad’s death, her mother fell apart; Maleeka had to brush her mom’s teeth and feed her. Eventually, Maleeka’s mom was able to pick herself up when she discovered sewing. She makes all of Maleeka’s clothes despite the fact that they aren’t sewn very well, and Maleeka is teased relentlessly for them. Maleeka explains that she worries what might happen if her mother were to stop sewing—if she fell back into her grief—indicating that Maleeka continues to take on a parental role in her household. Maleeka’s mom also saves money to play the stock market or to buy lottery tickets, but they are still “dirt poor,” as Maleeka explains. However, Maleeka knows her mother loves her very much and tries to support her—for instance, by trying to get her into a better school.
Maleeka’s Mom Quotes in The Skin I’m In
The The Skin I’m In quotes below are all either spoken by Maleeka’s Mom or refer to Maleeka’s Mom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
It’s bad enough that I’m the darkest, worst-dressed thing in school. I’m also the tallest, skinniest thing you ever seen. And people like John-John remind me of it every chance they get. They don’t say nothing about the fact that I’m a math whiz, and can outdo ninth graders when it comes to figuring numbers. Or that I got a good memory and never forget one single, solitary thing I read. They only see what they see, and they don’t seem to like what they see much.
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After Maleeka meets Miss Saunders and endures John-John’s continued ridicule, she gives the reader some background about why she is constantly taunted. The fact that she calls herself “the darkest, worst-dressed thing in school” and the “tallest, skinniest thing” illustrates how much she’s internalized the hurtful language that other people hurl at her. It implies that insecurity and bullying work in a cycle: the more people insult Maleeka, the more insecure she is about her looks and her clothing, and the more people pick up on that insecurity and bully her. Flake also subtly introduces the symbol of Maleeka’s clothes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. To
Chapter 3 Quotes
Char says the dress would look perfect if I had some hips and boobs to go with it. Char blows a fat ring of stinking gray smoke in my face. I laugh, like everybody else. You got to go along with Char if you want to get along with her. You can’t be all sensitive. That’s what Char says.
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Every morning, Maleeka, Charlese, Raise, and Raina meet in the girls’ bathroom before school, and Charlese gives Maleeka nice clothing to wear in place of the clothing Maleeka’s mom sews her. While this might indicate friendship between the two girls, this becomes one of the more fraught aspects of their relationship. In theory, Charlese’s help is meant to stop their classmates from bullying Maleeka, since Maleeka’s clothes are one of the things other students target the most. In fact, getting the clothes from Charlese symbolizes Maleeka’s acceptance among her peers. Yet, to make sure that Maleeka isn’t overconfident in her Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi qui
Chapter 5 Quotes
At school, everybody’s staring at me. Even John-John’s doing a double-take. When I walk into class, all eyes is on me. Char’s the only one that’s got something negative to say.
“So your momma finally broke down and bought you some clothes. About time,” she says, as soon as we get to Miss Saunders’s class.
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One day, when Maleeka’s mom gets a bonus at work, she buys Maleeka some new clothing, and Maleeka is thrilled to show off the clothes at school the next day. That Maleeka is so confident in her new clothes, and that most of her classmates don’t have anything negative to say, suggests that clothes play an important role in Maleeka’s acceptance at school—and thus in her self-esteem. This contrasts with Maleeka’s experience later, when she gets a haircut and she realizes that she doesn’t need others’ approval—and that the most important opinion on her looks is her own. The fact Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto volupta
Chapter 12 Quotes
“New clothes, huh?” he says, trying to be smart.
I stop walking and turn to him and ask real smart like, “Why you always picking on me?” I ain’t sure what’s come over me. I guess thinking about Akeelma makes me wonder why people treat others like they’re nothing.
“Chill, Maleeka,” John-John says, strutting down the hall alongside me. He gets quiet, and I hear his big sneakers squeaking every time they hit the floor.
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One day, when Charlese refuses to bring Maleeka nice clothes, and Maleeka is instead forced to wear the clothes her mother sewed, John-John picks on her for them. John-John’s teasing is nothing out of the ordinary, and it reinforces the connection between Maleeka’s clothes and her acceptance at the school. Yet Maleeka’s reaction to John-John’s bullying is unusual, and it represents another turning point in her confidence and her journey. Here, Maleeka recognizes the clear source of this newfound self-assuredness: the stories that she’s writing about Akeelma. Not only do the stories enable Maleeka to better understand her life, but Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa.
Chapter 13 Quotes
The class gets so quiet, it’s scary. “I was ten years old and brushing her teeth, feeding her oatmeal like a baby. She cried all the time. Last year, she finally came to. Got up one day, went and bought a sewing machine, and started making clothes. Ain’t never sewed nothing before. Just started, day and night, sewing.”
Some kids at the back of the room start to snicker and make smart remarks. Shut up, I’m thinking. Just shut up.
“The more she sewed them clothes, the better she got. She started picking up after herself. Got a job and all. No, ain’t nothing good come from loving somebody so much you can’t live without ‘em,” I say. “No good at all.”
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During an English class discussion of Romeo and Juliet, Maleeka shares her opinion that she doesn’t think it’s good to love someone to the point that you can’t live without them. As she recalls her mother’s reaction to her father’s death, she illustrates some of her mother’s shortcomings as a role model. Her description of having to feed her mother and brush her teeth for her demonstrates how their dynamic completely flipped in the wake of Maleeka’s dad’s death. With Maleeka performing the role of a parent, her mother clearly couldn’t be a proper a role model for her. Maleeka Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam q
Chapter 22 Quotes
The words is written out real neat and straight and strong.
Brown
Beautiful
Brilliant
My my Maleeka
is
Brown
Beautiful
Brilliant
Mine
Momma is calling me. I can’t answer. My mouth is full of Daddy’s words, and my head is remembering him again. Tall, dark, and smiling all the time. Then gone when his cab crashed into that big old bread truck. Gone away from me for good, till now.
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When Maleeka shows her mom the writing she did for the library contest, her mother directs her to an old poem that her Maleeka’s dad wrote for Maleeka before he died. The short poem is so valuable to Maleeka because it counters many of the messages she hears from her classmates. While many of them mock her for her dark skin, here her father associates her brown skin with both beauty and brilliance. The poem’s simplicity, coupled with the fact that it’s written on a brown paper bag in “neat and straight and strong” handwriting, gives it a kind of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. L
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Maleeka’s Mom Character Timeline in The Skin I’m In
The timeline below shows where the character Maleeka’s Mom appears in The Skin I’m In. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...too Black, for being too tall and skinny, and for her ill-fitting clothes, which her mom makes by hand. She often borrows nicer clothes from one of her classmates, Charlese. But...
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Chapter 3
...more than ever. She didn’t want to go to school for a while, but her mom made her go. Then, Maleeka came up with a plan, offering to do Charlese’s homework...
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Chapter 5
When Maleeka gets home, her mom takes her downtown to buy new clothing because she got a bonus at work. So,...
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Chapter 7
...or hang out with friends for three weeks because of the fight. Mr. Pajolli, Maleeka’s mom, and Miss Saunders also agree that Maleeka should work in the school office. Miss Saunders...
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Chapter 8
On Saturday, Maleeka’s mom eases Maleeka’s restrictions at home, and Maleeka’s friend Sweets comes over to her house. Maleeka...
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...her dad gave her when she was little. She has her dad’s eyes and her mom’s lips. She also has the same skin color as her dad, which she didn’t used...
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After Maleeka convinces her mom to let her get her hair cut, she goes to Ronnie’s salon. As Ronnie cuts...
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Chapter 10
Maleeka’s alarm clock never rings when it’s supposed to, and so her mom always has to wake her up to go to school. Maleeka gets dressed, ignoring a...
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In the kitchen, Maleeka’s mom is reading up on the stock market. She sews Maleeka’s clothes so that she can...
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Chapter 13
...because it’s romantic. Maleeka disagrees. She says when her dad died three years earlier, her mom fell apart. At 10 years old, Maleeka had to brush her mom’s teeth and feed...
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Chapter 16
...morning writing in Akeelma’s journal; she’s shocked that she actually likes doing the work. Her mom also piled chores on her, until Maleeka told her that she had homework to do....
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...because she has new clothes for Maleeka. Sweets doesn’t say much and hangs up. Maleeka’s mom has her do more chores, and at four p.m., Maleeka finally leaves for Charlese’s house.
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Chapter 17
...chance, Sweets appears, and Maleeka tells her what happened. Sweets promises not to tell Maleeka’s mom and gives her a tissue to wipe her face. Sweets feels sorry for Maleeka, knowing...
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Chapter 22
In the morning, Maleeka shows her mom what she’s written. Her mom is impressed—she tells Maleeka that she could be a professional...
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Chapter 26
...her room, the phone rings. Maleeka answers it quickly: it’s Miss Jackson, their neighbor. Maleeka’s mom wakes up and takes the phone, talking to Miss Jackson about going with her to...
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Chapter 27
Maleeka’s mom finds out what Maleeka did and hits her for the first time in Maleeka’s life....
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Chapter 28
Later that afternoon, Maleeka’s mom sends Maleeka to pick something up at the corner store. There, Maleeka runs into John-John....
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When Maleeka gets home, her mom already knows what happened with John-John. She also tells Maleeka that a letter arrived from...
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Chapter 29
Maleeka and her mom frame her congratulations letter alongside her dad’s poem. Maleeka then spends the rest of the...
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